I owe you not
by irishmuse
Summary: Rachel explained everything very simply to Finn. She was Puck’s friend, even if he wasn't anymore. She told him that she completely understood why Finn wasn’t Puck’s friend, but she was going to be... Finn/Rachel/Puck triangle Please Read and REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I don't own Glee or any of the characters and as always this is only for entertainment purposes. I haven't decided if this is a oneshot thing or not. I could write more. Also it's mostly Puck/Rachel/Finn triangle stuff leaning favorably towards Finn/Rachel but I really am a Puck/Rachel fan too. All of this is set post #1.13 Sectionals.

* * *

Noah Puckerman never owed anybody anything. He was always a free agent, not tied down to anyone or anything (at least that's what he always told himself and everyone else). And so owing anyone was always a repulsive idea. Too bad Noah Puckerman didn't count on things changing yesterday.

Puck swaggered down the hall, winking and cat calling to all the appropriate hotties as he passed. And right before arriving at a certain Cherrio's locker, Puck unloaded the contents of his Big Gulp cup onto the nearest geek, namely the Jewfro sporting Jacob Israel. Yeah, he had said that no one ever deserved to get slushied, but whatever, who really cared or liked Jacob anyway? He was a creep and as far as Puck was concerned, Jacob could probably _always _use a cold shower (because although Puck might be horny 24/7 at least he kept his cool and girls actually wanted his junk. Jacob was just a creeper about it).

"What are you grinning about?" Santana asked Puck blankly.

"Well, hey mamacita." Puck said, placing a hand on Santana's lower back. Then he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I really liked all those things you were saying last night, maybe we could go bring some of that imagery to life."

Santana turned and smiled at Puck. His hand slipped to her hip as she turned and was leaning so close now their noses almost touched. "Oh, Puck. I'd love to, _really_. But I can't continue these little trysts of ours. I've found someone with a great credit score and great skills in bed to keep me satisfied on a regular and _dating_ kind of basis."

Puck snorted. "What are you talking about? How can you be dating someone already when you were _just_ sexting me last night?"

"It's easy enough, Puck. Easier than say….getting your best friend's girl pregnant while dating someone else." Santana spat back. Puck didn't know what to say. She had him there. He just smiled and stood up straighter, separating their faces.

"Well, babe. Good luck with that." Puck said with a smirk. He removed his hand from her waist and watched her walk away.

_Damn_, he thought to himself as his watched her saunter away._ I'd still like to tap that. We'll see how she's feeling Friday after the game when she's a little more loose._ Puck turned to go towards his first class when one of the hockey players barreled into him. "Hey! Watch it, Ice Head!" Puck yelled but the hockey player just laughed and kept walking. _What is the world coming to? _Thought Puck again. Were hockey players really challenging what a badass he was? Puck decided he need to pummel the kids face later. As he was contemplating the best way to rearrange the dude's face, Puck heard someone call his name.

"Mr. Puckerman!" Mr. Figgins yelled in his distinctive Indian accent. Puck laughed as the image of Apu from the Quikimart came into his head. But he stifled his laugh and smile as he turned around and faced Mr. Figgins.

"Yeah, Mr. Figgins? What's up?" Puck asked. But the question was answered with one look at what Mr. Figgins held. Dangling from Mr. Figgins' index finger was a pair of shiny, new numchucks. Puck swallowed. "Uh, what are those?" Puck tried to keep his cool and sound as innocent as possible.

"Why don't you tell me, Mr. Puckerman? They fell from your backpack and onto our newly waxed floor." he emphasized newly.

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about." Puck denied but Mr. Figgins wasn't buying it.

"Mr. Puckerman, you should know that the school has a zero tolerance policy for weapons. This means I have no choice but to immediately suspend you and set up an expulsion hearing with the School Board." Puck became as white as a sheet for a second before regaining his composure.

"Mr. Figgins. I don't know what those are that you're holding, but they're not mine. And you're not going to expel one of your star football players." he boasted and puffed up his chest, trying to be badass.

"Football season is nearly over, Mr. Puckerman, and besides, the football team sucks. If you were on the Cheerios, then maybe your loss would be felt. And as far as Glee, goes, I'm assuming since you did not mention that, that they don't really need you there." Mr. Figgins shot back, with a slight smile.

_Fuck_. Puck thought. "Mr. Figgins, they're really not mine. I don't know what else you want me to say."

"You don't have to say anything. Just follow me, we have some paperwork to do to finish your suspension. Then we have to call your mother." Mr. Figgins turned to walk away but ran smack into Rachel Berry.

"Oh, excuse me, Mr. Figgins!" Rachel almost yelped.

"Ms. Berry. Excuse me. Shouldn't you be in class?" he asked pointedly.

"Well, Mr. Figgins, I was on my way to my biology class, which is down this hall, when I could not help but overhear your conversation with Noah. I want to say that I was standing at my locker, right over there, the entire time before the bell rang and I had a clear view of the entire scene at hand." Rachel said matter-of-factly in one breath.

"Your point. Ms. Berry?" Figgins questioned impatiently.

"I know for a fact, that those….what are they….numchucks? Yes, those numchucks did not come from Noah. They fell out of Jacob Israel's bag. I saw them fall as a large hockey player pushed him to the ground and then bumped into Noah here. They're Jacob's numchucks, not Noah's." she informed him. Puck stared at her a little slackjawed, he tried to hide the fact that she was most obviously lying because if she really saw everything she would have seen him slushy Jacob and seen that the numchucks really did fall out of his bag, not Jewfro's. Puck wondered sincerely, _why is she lying for you?_

"Mr. Israels', eh? Ms. Berry, do you really expect me to believe that story?" Mr. Figgins questioned.

"Why else would I say it? There is no personal benefit for me in helping out Noah. As you said, he's completely replaceable in Glee," Rachel shot a look at Puck when she said that he was replaceable. "I'm just speaking up in the name of justice. But, by all means if you feel so strongly, do try to suspend him now. It's _my_ word and his against yours. Just save everyone the headache and let Noah go. Your evidence is weak and our word will be enough to refute it." Puck wondered where Rachel got her sudden badassness. He was slightly turned on by her display and curious to see if Mr. Figgins was going to tolerate her obvious show of aggression.

Mr. Figgins looked fustrated. He had really wanted to suspend someone today. He sighed slightly and said "Fine. Mr. Puckerman, you are not suspended, _for now_, _but_ since you both are tardy for your first period, I'm giving you 2 afternoons worth of detention. Now get to class." Mr. Figgins was out of sight before Rachel or Puck could protest. Mr. Figgins had wanted to say a week of detention but he new the maximum penalty he could impose was two days for being tardy to class, and he knew Rachel Berry would know that too.

"Well, way to go, Ms. Priss. Now we've got detention!" Puck griped ungratefully, trying to cover up the fact that she really just saved his ass.

"Excuse me, Noah. But as I recall I just saved you from being expelled! You most definitely owe me. Plus, I got detention from helping you. You practically owe me double!" Rachel almost yelled at Puck but kept her voice stern and authoritative.

"I never owe anyone anything, Berry." Puck said through gritted teeth.

"Well now you do." Rachel spat back, turned quickly and rushed away before he could utter another syllable. He really hated her dramatic exits.

Puck watched as she pranced down the hall away from him, particularly noticing the sway of her hips and the amazing way her legs looked in that miniskirt she was wearing. _Fuck_, he thought again._ How can I be in debt to Rachel Fucking Berry?_

* * *

Only four hours had passed since the incident that morning but all Puck could think about was that Rachel Berry thought he owed her something. That really pissed him off. And everyone could tell Puck was pissed because he was shaking his leg at the lunch table so hard everyone's seat near him jiggled.

"Hey, Puck. Dude, what's the matter with you?" Mike asked. "You're really on edge."

"Nothing." Puck muttered.

"Dude. You're such a liar. What the hell is wrong with you?" questioned Finn.

"Nothing, alright?" he spat back. But as he said that, Puck jumped up from the table. He saw Berry from across the cafeteria, toting her perfect pink lunch bag. The other football players took note of who he was eying, particularly Finn. Puck rushed over to Rachel before any of the guys could say anything, and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her out into the hallway.

"Ow!! Noah, let go of me!" Rachel yelled and tried to pry Puck's fingers from her arm. He wasn't holding her that tight, just enough to make it uncomfortable and to make sure Rachel couldn't wiggle out of his grip.

"Berry, we need to talk." Puck said sternly as he turned and faced her. He let her arm go and cornered her between the wall leading to the cafeteria and some lockers. "I don't like owing anyone anything. And I know you think I do because of whatever it is that you think you did for me this morning. I'd argue with you about it but I figure I'd save myself the trouble and just do you a favor and call it even."

Rachel smirked a bit but didn't respond.

"What, Berry? What are you smiling about?" he questioned.

"Nothing, Noah. I just find it humorous that it is so difficult for you to actually admit that you owe me. You'd rather just write it off as an excuse to not hear me talk to you and remind you that you owe me." She laughed.

"Whatever, Berry. Think what you will." He dismissed and then changed his tone, "But since I owe you, what kind of favor can I do for you?" Puck said rather suggestively and grabbed for the fabric at the top of Rachel's insanely short mini-skirt; he hoped to creep her out enough that she wouldn't want a favor. Rachel simply swatted his hand away.

"Noah. I don't know what you can do for me at the moment. And I certainly can guarantee you that _sexual_ favors of any kind will **not** be required by me from you. I don't know if you remember our little talk on the bleachers, but I'm not really that interested in shacking up with you. Yeah, it was fun at the time, but you never really had my heart." She said forcefully.

"Well, babe, I hate to break it to ya, but I barely remember our time together," he lied, "but I have to say that I do recall you being all hot and bothered for someone else, and I know I wasn't thinking of you when we were together." Noah lied again, hoping it would hurt her feelings a little.

Rachel was unfazed by Puck's words and continued on, "I'm glad we were and are on the same page about things, Noah. Now, as to my favor. I have no idea how you can assist me now. But when the time presents itself, I will be asking." She said.

Puck thought to himself for a minute. When he saw Finn walking towards him and Rachel through the cafeteria, and he suddenly got an idea.

"Well, I've got a question for you, Berry. Are you and Finn doing it yet?" he said crudely.

Rachel crossed her arms defensively. "Finn broke up with Quinn only a month ago! I'm no rebound girl. We're just friends."

"But you want to be more, right?" He asked.

"Noah. You know the answer to that question. I don't feel much like spilling my guts to you in a hallway next to the cafeteria. And Finn will come around when he does, in his time." She said sweetly and sincerely.

"Well, I thought you just might want to speed up the process. Have loverboy confront his own feelings faster." Puck suggested.

"No. We all need to take our own time. Finn needs space right now. We're just friends" Rachel said sternly.

"Yeah, right. Prove it." Puck challenged and before Rachel new it, his lips were pressed to hers. They were hot and forceful and caught Rachel completely off guard. And as much as she liked how Puck kissed, she instinctively pushed away. But her fists on his chest did not seem to make him budge. He kept leaning into her farther and kissing her harder, his one hand entwined in her hair and his other pulling the small of her back up and forward.

Then suddenly Rachel found herself free of Noah's grip. Her eyes had been open the entire time Noah kissed her and so she had seen a large hand shove Noah's shoulder, sending him crashing into the lockers.

"What the hell are you doing, Puck?! Get off her." Finn yelled and turned four shades of red.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, loverboy! What's your problem?" Puck questioned, calmly.

"YOU'RE my problem, Puckerman!" Finn shouted and students started staring in their direction. "I saw you just spring on Rachel. Just stay away from her, Puck."

"Why should I, Finn? She's not yours! It's not like she's your girlfriend!" he retored and was going to say more when he was interrupted by Finn again.

"Like her being my girlfriend would stop anything, Puck." Finn hissed.

"Low blow, Finn." He said back in almost a hurt tone but he regained his attitude quickly and said, "Too bad I learned my lesson with Quinn. I figured I'd stay away from girls you're involved with seeing as that didn't really work out for either of us last time. And seeing how Rachel here, as far as I knew and as far as she seems to know, is just your friend, I figured she was fair game."

"Stay away from her, Puck." Finn ordered.

"No. I won't. She's not yours. Get off your high horse." Puck shot back, shoving Finn in the chest.

People passing by slowed down significantly to hear the exchange between Puck and Finn and Rachel was standing between then awkwardly thinking that this all really must be a dream. How could Finn and Puck be fighting over her? She laughed at the idea. There was no way that this was really happening to her. And when Puck shoved Finn, she had to duck out of the way of the fist Finn sent flying through the air, striking Puck in the mouth. People definitely gathered around now, not bothering to pretend to be on their way to class. Students openly gapped at Finn and Puck exchanging blows. Rachel yelled for them to stop fighting to no avail. Puck had Finn on the floor and was about to pound another fist into Finn's face when he felt someone small grab his arm. He realized quickly it was Rachel and she was yelling at him too. He thought it was funny how he hadn't heard her before.

"STOP IT, PUCK! STOP IT NOW!" Rachel screamed as she griped Puck's arm with all her might, which couldn't stop much. But Puck stopped and stood up. Finn laid on the ground for a moment, clutching his eye. Rachel quickly bent down to him.

"Finn? Finn? Are you okay? Let me see." She gently removed Finn's hand from his eye. There was a small cut on his eyebrow and his eye was already purpling right along his cheekbone. "Oh, Finn. We should get you to the nurse. You need some ice and some Neosporin." She pressed gently on his cheek and he winced slightly.

"Rachel. I'm sorry." Finn said sincerely. He was looking right into her eyes and brought a hand up to her face. "I'm an idiot. But I'm going to kill Puckerman."

"Hush. You're not an idiot, Finn. And you won't be killing anyone. Just let it go; I don't like Puck anyway. I don't know what he was thinking. Now let's get you to the nurse." Rachel ordered.

"Thanks Rachel." he said sincerely.

"What are friends for, Finn?" she beamed and leaned down and kiss his bruised cheek. As she pulled back, Finn's hand caught her face.

"You're more than a friend." Finn whispered so that only Rachel could hear. And ignoring everyone in the hall walking around them and ignoring half the football team and Cheerios who were staring at them, Finn wrapped his hand in Rachel's hair and pulled her face to his. He kissed her gently yet passionately, reminding Rachel of their first kiss, except he didn't run away awkwardly. And Rachel felt simply perfect.

Puck had not stayed around to watch the display that he was sure was to follow. He'd rather not see any mushy stuff, it just creeped him out, too much emotion. But he smirked to himself with deep satisfaction and rubbed his already bruising jaw.

And he thought to himself smugly,_ I'm a badass and I don't owe anyone nothing._


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Hey! Thanks for the reads/reviews/follows, this is my first FanFic and I'm sorry if I don't update quickly. Let me know what you think! And sorry if any of the characterizations or cursing isn't to your liking. I try to be fairly real to the characters but everyone has their own interpretations. Thanks!

* * *

Rachel's head was spinning immediately after one of the greatest moments of her high-school life. Finn Hudson had kissed her. And not only had he kissed her but he kissed her in front of everyone at school. (Well, not everyone of course, Rachel would correct, because not everyone was standing outside the cafeteria at that moment, as that would be quite the physical impossibility.) But the fact remained that the entire school was now abuzz with the gossip surrounding Rachel, Finn, and Puck. Rachel didn't hear any of the gossip, however, as she was completely high on the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She felt more invincible than ever and more ready to conquer the world. She felt positively alive and everything would be great.

Finn's head was spinning too, but not all in a good way. He knew he definitely liked the kiss he shared with Rachel, and he knew that he was definitely pleased that he didn't, well, have to change his pants afterwards. But what he was worried about was the fact that he had just kissed Rachel Berry in front of most of the Cheerios and jocks in the school, which would do absolutely nothing for his rep. He knew when he joined Glee that it would definitely harm his social standing but it was a risk he was willing to take because Glee made him happy, truly happy for the first time in a long time. But Finn understood or at least mostly accepted the flak he got for being in Glee, but he wasn't sure what torture he would face from kissing Rachel. He knew very well no one really liked Rachel; she wasn't even popular in the group she where she was the most valuable player. Finn just knew there was going to be trouble.

Puck, on the other hand, had thought nothing about the consequences of his actions. He just knew that he was officially out of debt to anyone and that meant things in the universe were right again. But Puck was wrong about that feeling; everything was not as it should be.

Puck quickly realized that this was the case as he walked into Glee. Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie were loudly talking to each other.

"Girl, you should have seen it! It was like an episode of the Real World or The OC or some white-ass teen soap opera like that." Mercedes told Tina as Kurt nodded along, "I mean, first, Puck and Rachel were like totally making out right outside of the cafeteria where _everyone_ could see and then Finn came bolting out of the caf and totally punched Puck right in the face!"

"And then the boys were yelling about Rachel and who's girlfriend she was." Kurt chimed in, "It was insane. I think that Rachel must have cast some sort of demon spell over them because they were both batshit crazy. I mean, really, how does Rachel Berry go from no boyfriend to having two men fighting over her?" Especially Finn, thought Kurt, who should be seeking solace and comfort on his shoulder, not kissing Berry.

"And then they were fighting for reals, both throwing punches at each other but Puck totally knocked Finn's boney ass to the floor and was about to ruin his face, but Rachel stopped him." Mercedes continued but Kurt interrupted again.

"And then Rachel was all over Finn. He looked really confused and she totally took advantage of him and kissed him." Kurt told Tina and Artie who looked thoroughly engrossed in the story.

"Rachel really took advantage of Finn?" Tina questioned incredulously.

"Well, yeah, kinda. At least that's what I saw." Kurt said firmly, flipping his bang out of his face as he turned up his nose.

"What about Puck? I mean that's gotta suck for Rachel to totally dis him like that and pick Finn's side in front of everyone." Artie piped up.

Puck felt that this moment was the appropriate time to step up and let the gossiping four know of his presence. "Well if you want to know what I think, just ask. I'm sittin right here." He said as he slouched down in one of the chairs line up on the risers.

Artie, Tina, Kurt and Mercedes collectively froze and focused in on Puck who was now sitting only a few feet from their little powwow.

"Oh, hey Puck." Mercedes said cooley, "We didn't see you there."

"Obviously," he responded dryly.

"Uh, well….this is awkward." Arties said, running his hand through his hair.

Silence fell over the group for another moment before Puck felt like someone should say something and as it seemed none of the other four had any balls to ask him directly, he answered what was on everyone's minds.

"Guys, you know I'm not upset about what happened out there at lunch, right? I don't give a shit about Rachel Berry." Puck informed the group, but they just looked confused.

"But why…?" Tina began before suddenly seeming to lose her voice.

"Why did I kiss her?" Puck finished her thought. Puck paused for a second and thought about whether or not he should admit that he ever owed Rachel Berry a favor. He decided against the long story with the favor as it wasn't his style to tell long stories and it wasn't his style to owe anyone favors. Instead he said, "I just wanted to shut Berry up for a minute. She was annoying the crap outta me, seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Puck, it's not normal to kiss someone to get them to shut up." Mercedes pointed out in an insinuating tone.

Puck was about to defend his action further when he was interrupted by the arrival of several more members of Glee. Mike, Matt, Brittany and Santana all walked into the room followed by Mr. Schuester.

"Alright, guys we got a good number to work on today that we may be able to use for Regionals," announced Mr. Schue as he passed around new music to everyone in the room. Quinn walked in and quickly took a seat near Brittany and Santana, but gave Puck a strange look right before she did. Puck could have sworn it was a look of rage but he really couldn't decide.

"Where are Finn and Rachel?" Mr. Schue asked but no one responded.

* * *

Finn was avoiding Glee. He didn't want to face all his fellow Glee members, especially not Quinn, after what happened in the hall at lunch. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_. Finn thought to himself. "Stupid! Stupid, Stupid!" he reiterated out loud as he paced under the bleachers next to the football field.

"Finn?" A delicate voice called; he immediately recognized it.

"Hey." Finn responded, stopping dead in his tracks as he nearly ran into the small brunette who called his name.

"Finn, are you okay? I was about to walk into Glee when I saw you weren't there and it was already starting. I figured you were out here if you weren't there. Are you okay?" Rachel asked. He could really hear the concern in her voice, it made him feel horribly guilty.

Finn stared above Rachel's head for a moment before looking down at her. _Man, she's beautiful_, he thought. "Yeah, I'm fine," he lied.

Rachel stared at him for a second. "Finn. This is me, Rachel, you're talking to here; there really is no point in lying to me."

Finn continued to avoid eye contact but admitted that he wasn't okay. "Rachel. I'm sorry but I just need some time to process what just happened. I don't know if I'm okay with it." Finn looked down to gage her reaction and wasn't surprised to see her face twist up a bit in pain. Her eyes look watery, too.

"I don't really know what there is to process," Rachel said defensively, "You kissed me, Finn. In front of the whole school. You. Kissed. Me."

Finn looked away from her. "Yeah, I know. But I was just, I don't know, caught in the moment. You were being really nice and my head was spinning from being punched and I didn't really think about what I was doing."

Rachel could feel her mood changing and her temper flaring up, "You didn't know what you were doing? Really? Is that the story you're going with? Let us not forget that you came up to Noah and shoved him first, and started a fight because you did not like the fact that he kissed me."

"Yeah, well…" Finn couldn't think of an excuse for that and Rachel continued her recounting of the facts getting increasingly angry.

"And when you were hurt, I was just trying to be your friend and help you to the nurse's office but you took it as more. I'm the one who said we were just friends, nothing more, because I know you need space and because I really do like being your friend. But then you told me we were more than friends, and then you **kissed me**_**, **_Finn. But now you're just being a coward because you're afraid of how people will react to you liking me." Rachel pointed out very accurately. Finn didn't respond immediately so Rachel continued, "But Finn, I'm tired of this game. I'm either your friend or more than your friend. You can't have it both ways and you cannot hit every other boy who kisses me. Either stop being a coward or let me kiss whomever I choose!"

Finn looked at her and saw her trembling with anger and what he suspected was hurt. He was a mix of emotions and couldn't decide which one was going to win. He knew Rachel was right. He was afraid of how the other kids would react, and he really didn't need to get any more flak from any of the jocks. And as much as he hated it, he worried about what Quinn would say and think. Rachel could see him struggling with what to do. And he tried to say something but he just stood there, mouth slightly gaped open and nothing came out.

"Okay. I see how it is." Rachel said, looking into Finn's eyes. She quickly spun about and walked away in her dramatic way.

"Wait!" Finn finally managed to spit out but Rachel kept walking.

**AN: **Sorry for any typos. And I'll update as soon as I can! Thx!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Here's chapter 3. Sorry if it's slow, I like character development and understanding. Thanks for the nice things you say, it really makes me write faster to see what you think! And I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Neither Finn nor Rachel showed up to Glee at all. This caused Puck to worry, which was uncharacteristic of him, and this uncharacteristic feeling caused him to feel very unsettled. As soon as rehearsal ended, Puck jumped up and darted from the room, avoiding all eye contact. He didn't want to deal with any more questions. Plus, Quinn had been staring at him the entire rehearsal, giving him that _we-need-to-talk_ look. He really didn't want to confront that right now. So, he darted for the one place he knew no one would follow him: detention.

No one else was in the classroom designated for detention, and Puck enjoyed the momentary reprieve from all the noise. He slumped backwards in one of the chairs and shut his eyes for a second trying to think of a way to really explain why he kissed Rachel. The truth would probably be the easiest explanation but it was also the least appealing for reasons previously mentioned. He really had no clue what he was going to say, so he decided that he wasn't going to say anything at all. _Let them think whatever they want_, he thought to himself_ Fuck 'em. It's none of their business anyways. _Puck what then jolted from his inner revelation by the sound of someone else entering the room. He opened his eyes and saw Rachel taking a seat behind him, right next to the door. He was about to make some caustic remark about how amazing he was and how much she actually owed him now since he got Finn to actually make a move when he noticed that Rachel didn't seem as happy as he would have expected.

"What's the matter, Berry? Is separating from Finn for a whole hour really bringing you to tears? Or is he just that bad of a kisser?" Puck mocked. Rachel looked up and her watery eyes instantly started streaming like the dam that held them back suddenly burst. "Geez, Berry. Calm down. I was just joking." Puck said defensively crossing his arms. It always made him highly uncomfortable when girls started crying in front of him.

Mr. Schuester walked into detention at that moment and saw the tears streaming down Rachel's face. His glare instantly shot to Puck, and gave him an accusing look.

"Rachel, are you okay?" asked Mr. Schue, placing one hand on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel didn't say anything. She just sobbed heavily, her shoulders heaving as she choked on air. "Do you need to step out for a minute? Go to the bathroom or anything?" he suggested and Rachel nodded her head quickly. "Well go ahead and go. But don't be too long. I know detention stinks but it's not the end of the world," he tried to reassure her, misunderstanding her actual problem.

Puck watched Rachel bolt from the room and he really wondered what he said to make her cry like that; and then he had to mentally punch himself in the balls for actually feeling bad about it.

* * *

Unfortunately for Puck, his mental kick to his own balls didn't make his guilt go away. When Rachel didn't come back after twenty minutes, Puck started to feel even worse. So, against the advice of the voice in his head that was screaming that he should stop, just chill and think about a chick that wasn't so dramatic, Puck raised his hand and asked for a bathroom pass. Mr. Schue reluctantly gave it to him after Puck insisted he had a wicked case of the runs, to which Mr. Schue replied was entirely too much information.

Puck went to the girl's bathroom he figured Rachel would be in, looked around making sure no one was around, and then ducked inside. "Berry? Berry, you in here?" Puck whispered. He heard someone suddenly stop breathing. "Come on, Berry. I know you're here. I can hear you breathing, your nose has to be all stuffed up from that crying. Stop trying to hide." Puck got no response but he went to the handicap stall and pushed firmly on the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Berry. I know you're in there. Open the door."

"No." Rachel finally spoke after a long moment. He could still hear the tears in her voice.

"Berry. Open the door and stop being so damn dramatic. I didn't say anything that traumatizing. Stop being such a drama queen." He ordered. That got a response out of Rachel. Before he knew it the door to the stall flung open and Rachel, all five feet, two inches of her, was trying to stare him down. Her eyes looked crazy, all puffy and red, but with the hate of a thousand suns behind them as well. It almost made Puck draw back, almost.

"UGH. Not everything is about you!" Rachel screamed at him, shoving him in the chest a little as she did. He backed up from blocking the stall doorway out of surprise and Rachel darted for the door of the bathroom. Puck was quicker and blocked her escape with his body.

"Well then what is this about?" he demanded to know.

"Noah, move out of my way." Rachel hissed, ignoring his question.

"No. I asked you a question. Answer it." He shot back.

Rachel folded her arms and took a defensive pose. "No. Why should I? It's not like you really care and it's not like you're my friend. So, no. I really don't feel like sharing with you."

"Is this about what happened with Finn?" Puck asked ignoring her entire statement, "Because when I walked away I'm pretty sure you were happy and smiling. I mean, not only did you get to kiss my hot lips again but you got what you really wanted: Finn."

In spite of her desire not to share, Rachel felt compelled to set the record straight. "Noah, first, kissing you is not that fantastic," she lied but felt that it was true in her rage, "Second, I didn't get anything I wanted. All I got was two empty kisses, two afternoons of detention and the whole school hating me more than ever. And you want to know the truth, all of these problems are all **your** fault."

"My fault? What the hell are you talking about Berry, I helped you out!" Puck retorted.

"Ha! Helped me out?! How?!" she laughed.

"I got Finn to admit his feelings for you in front of everyone. You guys should be together now or whatever. Have your happily-fucking-ever-after. Or maybe more like a "happily-premature ejaculation-ever-after, or some other fairly tale crap like that. I set up a great teenage moment for you back at lunch: I got the guy who says he's just your friend to admit his feelings for you and kiss you in front of the whole school!" he defended. "I helped you out. As I said before, I got you what you always wanted: Finn."

"That's great, Noah, except that's not what happened. Reality isn't a teen movie! I am not popular. I don't really have any friends here besides Finn, who really only acts like my friend when no one else is looking. And his little confession never happened. Yeah, he kissed me, but he regrets it. He regrets it because the school didn't exactly slow clap for our kiss. In fact, most people just looked shocked or angry after it happened. Finn looked like a ton of bricks fell on his head and he darted from the hallway as soon as he realized exactly how many people were standing around. It wasn't the quintessential, idealistic moment most girls dream of; it was more of a nightmare with some kissing." Rachel summarized and then was thoroughly out of breath.

Puck looked confused for a moment as his brain processed everything Rachel said because she had said it entirely too quickly. "Wait. So he like, ran away?" Rachel nodded. Puck thought for a second more and then muttered, "What a little bitch." Rachel looked a little shocked at Puck's reaction.

"Excuse me?" she said politely.

"What a bitch!" Puck reiterated louder this time. "He's such a fucking sucker. That dude is so freaking crazy." It was Puck who now seemed to be getting flustered. He ripped open the bathroom door and started down the hall. Rachel quickly fell behind him, caught off guard by his sudden anger.

"Wait, why are you upset about this?" Rachel questioned, while following Puck as he barreled down the hall. He stopped and spun around; Rachel ran into his chest and then took two quick steps backwards.

"I'm not upset. I'm pissed. Finn is such a little bitch! First he had Quinn and gave her up because she made one stupid mistake. Well, maybe two, but he dumped her after _she_ picked him. After _she_ wanted him and only him. Now he goes and makes you cry. _You_ who are so insanely in love with him that you follow him around like a lost puppy and constantly accept what a jerk he is to you because of the 'social hierarchy' of high school. The dude has had two perfectly hot and perfectly beautiful girls chasing after him and he doesn't deserve either of them. He's such a schmuck!" Puck had turned an interesting shade of red during his speech but part of him felt relieved to finally say all that out loud. The fact that Finn always seemed to get the girl really bothered him, especially because he knew that he was the real badass.

Rachel just looked up at him, her eyes slightly wide and said, "Did you just say I'm beautiful?"


	4. Chapter 4

Now, Rachel generally wasn't the one to take compliments too seriously, one because she rarely heard them unless she was giving them to herself, and two when she received a compliment the conversation generally went something like this:

Stranger overhearing Rachel sing: "Oh, sweetie, you sing so well!"

Rachel: "Yes, I know."

Because of Rachel's matter-of-fact acceptance, people would often get exhausted from complimenting her and would generally stop all together. Only recently had Rachel started feigning humility, as it was necessary to keep Glee together, and Glee, she was convinced, was her ticket to stardom (well that and her Myspace videos).

So while Rachel generally would not have reacted to a compliment such as the one Puck gave her, hearing those words, out loud, from a male other than one of her dads made her smile without even thinking and question that the words were said at all. Puck's reaction, of course, was quite different.

Puck looked at Rachel who had a goofy smile plastered to her face and he rolled his eyes at her before just walking away. _Fucking girls_ he thought. "I didn't mean whatever it is you thought I meant by that comment." He told her over his shoulder.

_He meant it, though_. She thought to herself. Rachel's grin broadened involuntarily from the thought. Her smile was quickly washed away, however, as Mr. Schuester came down the hall.

"Rachel, Puck, there you are. Guys, you have to actually be in detention to get it counted as you serving detention. You've both been gone too long. Get in there before I can't give you credit for serving your time." Mr. Schuester very nicely informed the two.

Although Rachel had wanted to talk more to Puck about what had transpired in the hall before they were beckoned back to detention, she found the watchful eye of Mr. Schuster to be a great deterrent. So, Rachel and Puck went into detention and served their time without as much as another syllable uttered to each other. But as they were leaving, Puck, for some reason (he couldn't tell you the reason himself) decided to be nice to Rachel.

"Hey, Berry," Puck called after her as she walked down the hall quickly away from detention, "You need a ride home?"

* * *

After school, Finn went immediately to his car. The events of that still reeling in his head, he was especially upset at himself for not stopping Rachel when she walked away from him earlier. He thought about running up to her, catching her by the arm, spinning her around, and kissing her like he wanted to (and like he had seen in some romantic movie he had been forced to watch once) but then he just stood there after she didn't stop and did nothing.

When Finn arrived at his car, he was sullen and not enthusiastic about the person waiting there to talk to him.

"Quinn." He said flatly. Quinn was leaning on his car and stood up straight when Finn said her name.

"Finn. I wanted to talk to you." She said sweetly.

"Huh. Well I don't really want to talk to you Quinn. So, I'm going to go, excuse me." Finn moved Quinn off his door and he unlocked his car opening the driver's door she was leaning against.

"Finn. This is ridiculous! It's been a month. You haven't really talked to me in Glee, and you don't even acknowledge my presence otherwise. It's rude and not like you, not to mention not fair." Quinn whined.

"Not fair? How the hell is it not fair? You cheated on me, Quinn. And then you tricked me into thinking that I got you pregnant. And I stepped up and was trying to be a good father. You're the one who wasn't fair to me." He spat back.

"Yeah. I know. None of that was fair. I shouldn't have done that to you. You didn't deserve it at all, you're a good guy, Finn. But that's what you're not being fair about. I haven't had the chance to even apologize to you. You wouldn't talk to me or look at me for two weeks and now, though you look at me, you don't let me talk to you. You won't let me explain or apologize or anything! But you talk to Puck. How is that fair?" Quinn questioned with pain in her voice.

Finn thought for a moment. He didn't want to have this conversation right now and not in the school parking lot but it seemed Quinn wasn't going to back down. "Look, okay, I'm not being fair. But it's different with guys. Puck and I had it out a week after the whole thing happened. I kicked the crap out of him," Finn lied about that, they both had sustained injuries, "and we're not friends anymore. But I have to put up with him for the sake of football, and well now, because of basketball. But honestly Quinn, if I could have it my way, you both would be somewhere very far away and cold, like Canada."

Quinn just crossed her arms and looked at Finn for a moment before saying anything. "Fine." She finally choked out. "Well let me know when you're grown up enough to talk to me, because it's getting a little old."

"Alright. I'll get back to you about that. Can I go now?"

"You can do whatever you like." She retorted moving away from his car.

"Yeah, right." He muttered to himself.

* * *

Finn found himself driving around aimlessly for a long while not going anywhere in particular. Then he found himself parked in front of Rachel's house. He had had a long time to think, and in all his thinking, he gave himself a headache and came up with a plan. A plan he wanted to share with Rachel. So he pulled up to her house and firmly knocked on the door.

"Hi, Mr. Berry." Finn greeted one of Rachel's dad as he opened the door. Finn had only met Rachel's parents once, when he picked her up to go bowling and they greatly intimidated him. But there was no hint of intimidation in Finn's voice this time when he spoke to one of Rachel's dads.

"Oh, hello, Finn." Mr. Berry greeted back, "Uh, Rachel's not here right now. She should be getting home shortly. She texted us to let us know she would be getting home late."

"Oh," Finn said, his confidence quickly dwindling. "Well, will you let her know I stopped by? Wait, nevermind. I'll just call her later. Thanks, Mr. Berry." Finn bounded for his car.

Serendipitously, the precise moment Finn got into his car was the same moment that Puck's truck pulled up to the Berry house. Finn, having parked across the street from the Berry residence saw Puck's truck and immediately froze, the keys to his car in the ignition.

Puck brought his truck to a graceless stop in front of the Berry household, barely missing clipping the mailbox with his passenger-side mirror.

"Noah, be careful! You almost crashed into my mailbox." Rachel chastised.

"Chill out. I didn't hit it. I know where the sides of my truck are and I'm a good judge of distance." He said with obvious irritation. Rachel and he hadn't really said a word to each other the whole ride, not that the ride was far (only three miles) but it had been a fairly awkward five minutes. "So, you wanna make out?" Puck threw the suggestion out there just in case Rachel wanted to, because really, he hadn't made out with anyone in far too long (and also because he really did like kissing Rachel, though he didn't really know why).

Rachel simply glared at him across the truck, her arms folded across her chest. "Noah. Honestly?"

He smirked at her, licked his lips and raised one of his eye brows, "What? Like you haven't thought about it. I know you kissed me back outside the cafeteria earlier. I'm just wondering when you'll admit it to yourself. You like kissing me." Puck didn't really know why he going with this line of conversation. Just something in him (probably the teenage hormones coursing through his veins) made him want to make out with her right then.

"Noah. We have discussed this. While I am a teenage girl and I, like all teenagers, have hormones, I don't always have to act on them. And while yes, I do like kissing you, it is a purely chemical and physical reaction I have, nothing more. Furthermore, we both know while kissing one another is fun, we are both thinking about other people. And I for one would rather wait to kiss that person I keep thinking of then make out with you everyday and have fun."

Puck lost his smirk and furrowed his brow. "You take life too seriously sometimes, Berry."

"You don't take things seriously enough." She snapped back.

"So, about the whole Finn thing…" Puck began before he was interrupted by a loud smack on the window behind his head.

"What the fuck?!" yelled a familiar voice.

"Finn?!" Rachel questioned incredulously as Puck spun around to see a very irate Finn in his window.

"This is like freaky deja vu." Puck said as Rachel climbed out of the truck. Finn went around to the front of the truck and Puck got out of the truck too.

"Finn, what are you doing here?" asked Rachel.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Finn shot back.

"He just drove me home." Rachel said calmly.

"Yeah, after doing what with him? Is that why you were late getting home? Because you were 'hanging' out with him?" Finn put quotes around 'hanging'.

Rachel looked at Finn and stomped her foot hard on the ground, "UGH. Finn. Stop being so fickle! Just go home." Rachel stomped up to her house and turned around quickly when she heard Finn following her. "Seriously, Finn. Leave. I don't want to talk to you right now." And with that Rachel, in her dramatic style, flew into her house and slammed the door. Finn looked defeated.

"What does fickle even mean?" he muttered to himself.

"It means you're an asshole." Puck said and Finn turned to face his former best friend, with a fire of pure hatred burning in his eyes.

**

* * *

**

**AN: The next installment will hopefully have more action. This one didn't. Sorry for the delay and the lack of action. Stick with me I promise it will get better. Thanks for all the views and reviews too! They do help me write faster I feel more pressure. :) Happy New Year!**


	5. Chapter 5

Finn didn't say anything to Puck, he merely charged at him and took one gallant swing. Puck ducked out of the way of Finn's incoming fist and Finn stopped his body from hurtling into Puck's truck with both his hands.

"Finn. Calm down. I don't want to have to take you down again today." Puck said almost seriously, which only enraged Finn more.

"This is all your fault!" Finn shouted at him but didn't charge again. "It's always about you, isn't it?" Finn balled up his hands into fists and hit Puck's truck hard enough to make his knuckles crack a little. Then Finn kicked at the headlight on the front of Puck's truck.

"Hey! Fuck you, dude!" Puck yelled as he pushed Finn over as he raised his foot to kick the light again. "What the hell are you so pissed about? You're acting like a fucking two-year-old, dude. And it's not cool."

"I'm not acting like a two-year-old." Finn huffed. "And I'm pissed at you! You can't seem to leave the girls I like alone and I'm getting sick of it!"

"Girls you like?" Puck laughed, "I'll give you that it was a pretty bitch thing of me to sleep with Quinn. But Berry? You like her? Because as far as I can see, you're not showing her that you like her." Puck retorted and Finn rolled his eyes. "As far as I see it, you're being a little bitch about everything with Berry. I mean I don't know her too well, we only dated for like a week," Finn shot him a glare at that comment because Finn really didn't like that Rachel had ever even looked at Puck in a romantic way, "but as far as I see, the girl follows you around and is real fucking great to you. But you keep leading her on. You don't even talk to her during school, man. Even I know that's fucked up."

Finn looked livid. "Fuck you, Puck. Don't judge me. You don't know what it's like being the captain of the football team and basketball team and to have _every_ guy on both teams disrespect you everyday. I get questioned for _everything_. And yeah, a major portion of the shit comes from me being in Glee, but that's nothing in comparison to the disrespect I get because **my best friend**got my girlfriend pregnant and I didn't know it. I'm barely holding on to my rep as it is."

"That's weak man. You know it and I know it." Puck challenged, "I mean you stood up to me and all the guys when you joined Glee. Now you're pussying out because you're getting more shit? Life on top is hard. Go cry about it to someone else. You don't even realize how good you have it sometimes, do you?" Finn stared blankly so Puck continued, "I'll let you in on a secret. Although I may have banged your girlfriend, she didn't want me to be the father, she wanted you. And she still doesn't want me after you dumped her. How fucked up is that? She picked being alone over me. And Berry, we broke up because of you. Because she liked you too much," Puck left out the part about him liking Quinn too much and continued, "You're either badass, Finn, or you're not. And nobody can take that away from you if you are. No fucking poser jocks or even sucky best friends."

Determined to make a dramatic exit from such (in Puck's mind at least) a perfect speech, Puck got into the cab of his truck and quickly turned the keys in his ignition. Finn stood on the sidewalk and just watched his former best friend go, with nothing really left to say.

* * *

Finn got into his car, Puck's words seeping slowly into his brain. He was being weak, he thought. It only made him angrier to admit, even just to himself, that Puck was right. Finn sat in his car for a long time, just thinking and not really moving. He didn't notice anything around him and was just lost in his own thoughts; he didn't even notice the sun starting to set or the fact that within the half hour of him sitting there, it became dark.

Finn snapped out of his trance when there was a small knock on his window. "Rachel?" Finn rolled down his window.

"Finn. What are you still doing out here? I told you to go home."

"I, um…I just didn't notice how long I was sitting here. Sorry." He said.

"Well, I insist that you come inside then, if you're not going to go home. It's freezing out here, Finn. You're going to freeze to death or at the very least ruin your voice. I can't be responsible for either of those scenarios, so if you won't leave…" Finn suddenly noticed what Rachel was talking about. The temperatures had already plummeted into the forties and his light hoodie wasn't providing much insulation from the cold. In fact, Finn realized how practically frozen his fingers felt. He quickly rolled up his window and followed Rachel who was now waiting for him on the walkway up to her house. They walked in her home, Finn following Rachel into her kitchen.

"Thanks, Rachel." Finn said sincerely as she handed him a cup of hot coco out of the microwave.

"No problem, Finn." Rachel was silent after her response for a few moments. Then she said hesitantly, "Finn, I am sorry for freaking out earlier when Puck dropped me off at home. I know I made kind of a….dramatic exit." She couldn't bring herself to stay mad at him anymore; she could never really stay mad at Finn for very long.

Finn put his coco down. "Rachel, I'm the idiot. I get really jealous when you're around Puck. I won't lie about that, and it makes me act a little crazy."

"There's nothing between Puck and I." Rachel interrupted.

"Yeah, I get that, Rach. But I guess there's a part of my brain that always says that that I thought there was nothing between Puck and Quinn, and we saw how that turned out."

"I'm not Quinn, Finn."

"I know. But you dated Puck. And you were kissing him today." Finn said in an almost injured tone.

Rachel sighed. "Finn., despite appearances, there is nothing between Puck and I. He kissed me today because he knew you'd be looking. He kissed me because I like you and he wanted to show you that you liked me."

Finn looked a little confused. How did Puck seem to become this master planner suddenly? And since when did Rachel confide her feelings in Puck? It all seemed a little off. Finn said so, and Rachel explained the entire situation, from Mr. Figgins and detention to the kiss in the hallway. Finn looked just as confused after Rachel's explanation as before it.

"So, you were only kissing Puck because you wanted to make me jealous?" Finn asked trying to sort things out. He was doing surprisingly well.

"_He_ kissed me so you would be jealous and make some grand confession of your love. But I guess it wasn't exactly a fool proof plan. You have to actually know the target in that plan has real feelings for the beneficiary otherwise the plan becomes a dud. Case in point." Rachel said pointing to herself.

"But Rachel, that's not what happened." Finn said.

"Yes, Finn. That is what happened. As far as I'm concerned, at least, that's how it happened. I cannot take your back and forth anymore. We're friends. And I love having you as a friend; you're probably my only friend and you seem to be the only one on my side most of the time. I'd like to keep it that way. We don't have to complicate things. Things may have started out romantic between us, but I think we can move past that. I don't think we really have a choice really. Unless you don't want to be my friend." Rachel said that last line with a lot of pity in her voice.

Finn looked at Rachel and things were just clicking into place for him. Puck's voice was going through his head. He didn't want to be the weak coward he had become for a brief time after finding out Quinn was pregnant. He wanted to be that guy who went against the football team, pulled Artie out of the port-o-john, and joined Glee. He wanted to be the guy to saved the Glee club even after being betrayed by his best friend and his girlfriend. He wanted to be _that_ guy.

"Rachel. I have been really stupid lately. You're honestly my best friend, but I don't want to be just your friend," Finn got up from his seat and took the two steps towards Rachel; his body now pressed up against hers. She didn't move mostly out of shock. He just cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs grazing her jawbone. "I want to be more than friends. I'm an idiot for letting you walk away earlier and I'm an idiot for taking this long to finally say it but I don't want to be an idiot anymore. I want…" But Finn didn't finish his line because Rachel pushed herself on to her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, silencing him. He instantly forgot what he was going to say and instead breathed in every part of Rachel he could get. He knew tomorrow was going to be an interesting day, but he didn't think about it then.

* * *

Puck got home and went immediately to his room; he was still a little agitated from everything that had happened that day. He still couldn't believe how much of a punk Finn seemed to be. He was more irritated, however, with the fact that all he could think about was Rachel Berry. He didn't understand how that girl put up with Finn or why she would want a guy who wouldn't even walk with her in school. When they had dated, he took a slushie to the face for it and even stuck with Glee instead of football partially because of her (and partially for Quinn). The thought of her breaking up with him still made him angry, but he didn't blame her entirely. He liked Quinn then and that had something to do with their break-up. How could he blame her for noticing and not wanting to be together? They both deserved what they really wanted. But now, he didn't know what it was that he really wanted. He knew, like he always knew, that he liked his cougar set up because he didn't have to think about it. He got paid for his pool cleaning and got his hormonal fix with the moms. It worked out perfectly. Navigating feelings and high school at the same time just complicated things.

Puck rolled over in his bed and metaphorically kicked himself for even thinking such deep shit as he was contemplating. _What the fuck is wrong with me_? He thought. _What the hell has Berry done to my brain? _He assumed Rachel did something to his brain because he hadn't thought this hard in weeks, and he hadn't spent any significant time with Rachel before today. Puck always only thought logically.

Puck felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He almost punched himself for hoping it was Berry. But it was Quinn.

_Puck, we need to talk_. The message read.

Puck didn't want to respond but he did anyways. _Fine. Over text? Call?_

_No. The diner._ She responded.

_Ok. Be there in 20._ He replied shortly and grabbed his jacket from where he threw it down. He wondered what Rachel was doing at that moment. It was probably a good thing he didn't know.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thanks for all the reads/reviews/follows! I hope you like this. I promise, promise, promise that it's moving more towards a triangle thing than it may seem right now (as it seems more Finchel than anything else right now). And please review, it's good to hear what you really think! Thanks!!

* * *

Puck sat at his favorite booth as he waited in the diner for Quinn. He kept checking his phone several times, seeing if Rachel had responded. He had, against his better judgment, sent her a text message and he was getting kinda concerned at her lack of response. _Jesus, dude. Pull yourself together. It's Rachel Fucking Berry_. He chastised himself.

Puck put away his phone quickly when he saw Quinn walking towards him. She was bundled up but Puck could still see her baby bump distinctively protruding from under her ivory peacoat.

"You're getting fatter." He said flatly with little sensitivity.

Quinn glared at him. "It's not fat. It's another human being growing inside of me. And yes, she happens to be getting bigger." Quinn sat herself in the booth daintily.

A waitress approached the two and took Quinn's drink order, as Puck hadn't waited on her to get there to order. There was an awkward silence between them when the waitress left. Puck took it in stride, leaning back and just stared off into space. Quinn finally cleared her throat and Puck glanced back at her, raising one eyebrow.

"So…" Quinn began, hesitantly, "I really needed to talk to you about something serious."

Puck interrupted her before Quinn could get on a roll, "Let me stop you, Quinn. I just wanna say first, if you have any questions for me about Berry, save it. I'm not really in the mood. Well, actually I'm not talking to you about it ever. So if that's what you wanted to talk about, then you're out of luck."

"That's not what I wanted to talk about, though I am curious about that whole occurrence." Quinn told him. "But since you won't talk about that, we'll talk about what I wanted to talk about. Here," Quinn pulled out an manila folder from the large purse she was carrying.

"What is this?" Puck asked picking it up.

"Paperwork. I am trying to get my kid adopted." She informed him.

Puck cocked his head a bit, "And? Why do I need to see paperwork?"

"Because apparently you have rights." Quinn said simply.

"Rights to what?"

"To my baby. I want to give her up, but you have to agree." Quinn told him.

"What? What do you mean? If I don't accept you giving her up, then you can't?" he asked.

"No. If you don't agree to me giving her up then you can have her. If you don't take care of her, then she'll get adopted anyway." Quinn crudely explained (because that's as much of the law she understood).

Puck didn't know what to say. It was a moment that truly left him speechless. It was the second time he could remember Quinn leaving him speechless and not because she had shoved her tongue down his throat, though he would have preferred that. He eyed the folder and thumbed the packet but didn't open it.

"Well, I don't know, Quinn." Puck finally said.

"What do you mean you don't know? I just want you to sign the papers, okay? Easy as that. Then, as soon as I give birth, this whole mess can be behind us. This girl needs a better life than I can provide. A better life than _you_ can provide." Quinn told him.

Puck wasn't buying it. Yeah, the responsibility sucked and thinking about the number of pools he'd have to clean to support his baby girl also sucked, but all he could think about was that _he_ had a kid. _He _was going to be a father. He knew if there was anything in this world he was meant to do, it was that; if not just to prove to himself that he could be better than his bum of a father. But was he really ready now? He doubted that the most.

"Quinn, I don't know. I'm gonna have to think about it." He said honestly.

Quinn looked irritated. "I don't really know what there is to think about, Puck. Just sign the papers. This baby needs real parents. We can't do that. I don't want to be a parent with you."

"A little late for that one. We are parents, Quinn. Whether you like it or not. And that doesn't mean we have to be together but it might mean we might have to share responsibility." Puck shot back, feeling more like a man than a hormonal teenage boy.

"Share responsibility? Really? Then support me more, Puck. I have a lot of expenses and the bills are just piling up."

"I'm doing what I can." He retorted.

"Exactly, Puck. And what you're doing is not enough."

"Well, I'll prove that I can. But I'm not signing these." Puck pushed the pile of papers back to Quinn. He got up from the table.

"What about your food?" Quinn questioned him as he began to leave.

He laid ten dollars down on the table. "I only got fries. This should cover it and your milkshake. Eat the fries, too. I'm out. Later." And with that Puck left. Quinn was the speechless one now.

* * *

The weekend passed without anything truly eventful. Saturday being particularly dull. But Monday was a new day for Puck, Rachel, and Finn. Puck had decided, after a weekend of babysitting his little sister and his fateful meeting with Quinn, that he was more determined than ever to support his baby. He knew needed to get another job in addition to his pool cleaning one, but wasn't exactly sure how he was going to procure another job. So he had that to figure out.

Rachel and Finn faced another dilemma all together, namely their "relationship". Finn and Rachel had hung out most of the weekend doing nothing of importance. But Finn had officially asked Rachel to be his girlfriend. She giggled and responded as most girls with huge crushes finally realized do, but it was strange for her at the same time. Puck had never _asked_ if she wanted to be his girlfriend. They just kinda were. Rachel pushed the thought out of her mind, however, and readily accepted Finn's proposal. She felt like she was in the 1950s, where guys asked girls to go 'steady'. It made her feel good. She even dreamt that she was Maria from West Side Story and that Finn was Tony. It felt like pure bliss.

Being at school, however, was not pure bliss.

Finn spotted Rachel at her locker and walked up to her hesitantly. He leaned against the lockers and grinned his goofy grin at the girl who was a good foot shorter than him.

"Hey." He said casually.

"Hey." She grinned. "How was the rest of your night?"

"It was alright." He lied. He actually couldn't sleep a wink last night because he was nervous about today.

"Well, are you ready for this? Or do you need more time?" Rachel asked sincerely.

"I'm ready for this." He lied again. Finn grabbed Rachel's hand after she closed her locker and he laced his fingers in his. As they headed for her homeroom, a good couple dozen people just openly stared. Apparently seeing Finn kiss Rachel in the hall had been one thing, but them holding hands now just solidified the truth of the situation. Rachel Berry hadn't, contrary to popular rumor, attacked Finn in the hallway on Friday, after Puck rejected her. It seemed that he really did kiss her and really did like her. It was either that or she was a witch; a rumor that was to be started shortly after homeroom by none other than Kurt.

"Well, we survived our first hallway walk." Rachel said cheerily as they reached her class.

"Yeah, we did, and I didn't even get a slushy facial." Finn laughed.

Rachel frowned, "Were you really worried about getting one because of me?"

Finn realized how hurt she sounded, "Naw. Just because it's Monday and maybe some of the hockey players got some more confidence over the weekend." Finn wondered then how much he'd lied to Rachel in the day-and-a-half they were together. _Too much, probably_. He answered internally.

Rachel smiled wearlily, almost letting herself believe his lie. "It's okay, Finn. I'd be worried if I were you. But I'd be more afraid of me than of some guy slushing you."

"Why would I be afraid of a pint-sized girl like you," he laughed.

Rachel didn't say anything but wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Finn was suddenly afraid, not just of people passing by seeing but more because he knew

"Get a room." said a deep voice.

Rachel and Finn broke apart and Puck was standing there, just staring.

"What do you want, Puck?" Finn growled.

"Uh, for you two to stop blocking the door. And to keep your PDA to…nonexistent." Puck told him. He noticed Rachel's cheeks blush and she quickly moved out of the doorway. Puck breezed by them but heard Rachel come into the room a few seconds after him.

Puck took his seat at the back of the room. Rachel was at the front. He was scoping out her legs and her short, short skirt when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

_Stop staring at me, Noah._ read Rachel's text.

He smirked and glanced up at Berry who didn't seem to be doing anything. She was good at being sneaky with her phone. For some reason he really liked that. _You really need to stop thinking about Rachel like that._ Puck thought. _Shit, Did you just call her Rachel in your own head? Fuck._

Puck snapped out of his internal dialogue and responded to Rachel's text. _Berry, I know you still want all that is Puck, but really, it's sorta desperate to text me what you want me to do._

A minute later and with no indication of what she was doing, Puck's phone vibrated again._ Ha! I know you're staring. Mercedes said as much, so don't deny it. Also, referring to yourself in the third person is lame._

_Well, you are a good judge of lame, Berry. Being the queen of it._ He shot back.

She didn't respond at all. Puck got frustrated. He had wanted to talk to her, but was surprised by her first message. He didn't want to make her stop talking to him. He hated to admit it, but he needed her help; Berry had become an essential part of his plan to prove that he wasn't a sucker.

Puck grabbed Rachel's wrist as people started to leave class. She glared down at his fingers and he quickly released her.

"Berry, I need to talk to you." He said trying to be as nice as possible.

"What is it now, Noah?" Rachel said disdainfully.

"I need your help." He said sincerely. Rachel's jaw dropped open a bit.

"You need _my_ help? Seriously?"

"Yeah, Berry. Don't look so shocked. I know it's hard to believe, but I do."

"With what can I assist you?" She said very formally. She was curious to hear the answer.

"I need to get a job. A second job. And I know you helped Finn get one when he needed it. I was hoping you could help me find one now." Puck said. He figured Berry would be the best person to ask because she was an overachiever and he probably wouldn't have to do anything to actually get a second job. He kept telling himself his recent inability to not think about her and to not think about kissing her had nothing to do with asking her.

Rachel looked at Puck suspiciously. She didn't know what to do. She had the urge to help him, but she knew that she really couldn't. Finn would definitely not like it and honestly, she couldn't blame Finn. Also, she didn't know exactly _why_ Puck was asking her.

"I can't, Noah. I only got Finn a job by a fluke. I am no job counselor. I am really not qualified to help you." She said.

"Come on, Berry. You were the one who wanted to be friends." He pressured her.

"Sorry, Noah. I can't. But good luck with that." Rachel left the room as quickly as she could.

Puck stood for a moment and looked defeated. But then a mischievous smirk sneaked across his face, an alternative plan slowly forming in his brain.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry for the lack of an update and for this painfully short one!! I've been in the process of moving. Still moving in fact. I'll try to update ASAP. Please let me know what you think--it makes me write faster! lol. Well I hope this doesn't suck too much!**

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"Okay, so you understand what you have to do, right?" Puck asked a large linebacker as they came in from working out in the gym.

"Yeah. I got it. It's not like I haven't done it before, Puck," the linebacker responded in a surprisingly high voice. Puck assumed the linebacker's awful voice was due to the fact that he abused steroids, one of the many reasons Puck would never touch the stuff. _I've got awesome guns anyways_, he added.

"Just don't fuck it up or I'm beating that $20 outta ya." Puck said sternly before hitting the shower.

* * *

They had been together two glorious days, thought Rachel. And day three was going wonderfully. Not as many people stopped to stare at them in the hall anymore, and the other students in Glee took their status change with ease (mostly because most of them saw the pairing coming, except Kurt who just sat in with a sour look on his face the entire time he saw them together). And, Finn had finally settled into idea that the world wasn't going to implode if he dated Rachel, and things were, quite possibly, great.

But as Rachel and Finn walked hand-in-hand towards her homeroom, they were painfully unaware of the linebacker stalking them down the hall. The linebacker hurtled passed them just as they rounded a corner, Rachel on the outside and Finn closest to the set of lockers. And as he rounded the corner next to Rachel, the linebacker turned, shuffling backwards momentarily and looked Berry dead in the face.

"Hey, Berry! Have a great day!" He yelled, in his rather comedically high voice. But what wasn't comic was the large amount of cherry slushie hurtling towards Rachel's face. Finn just stopped dead in his tracks and Rachel too, as she clinched her eyes shut in anticipation of the icy bath to follow. But it never came. Instead she felt herself hurtling into Finn; he was so startled by Rachel being flung into his arms that he barely caught her before her head hit the lockers.

Glancing over to who discover who, exactly, pushed her, Rachel saw Puck standing where stood only a moment before, completely covered in red.

Puck dramatically wiped he slushie out of his face and looked the linebacker dead in the eyes with a gloriously angry glare. His lips where in a thin line and he almost snarled when he spoke. "Don't mess with her!" and then, quickly improvising Puck added, "Or any of the Gleeks for that matter, got it?" Puck pointed his finger in the linebacker's face. He looked back at Puck, furious and confused. But he noticed Puck give a wink and stifling a smile, the linebacker pretended to be afraid.

"Right. Sorry, Puck. Won't happen again." He responded but he thought to himself, _this is totally costing Puck another fifty bucks._

"Noah!" Rachel touched his shoulder (the only part not covered in slushie).Puck turned and faced her. He relaxed his gazed and looked down on her in an adoring way.

"What?" he asked, but not in harsh tone, just in a curious one.

"Wha…why? Uh…." Rachel tried to think of something to say before she just said, "Thank you," very sincerely.

"Yeah. What are friends for?" He replied. He remembered that line from a book or a play or something like that, but thought it was appropriate and clichéd enough to hit Rachel's soft spot, namely her lack of friends.

Finn grabbed at Rachel's elbow. He wanted to be angry at Puck, but when he heard Rachel's sincere thanks, he wiped the scowl off his face. If he knew anything, he knew being mean to Puck would just hurt Rachel's feelings and as much as he hated Puck, he couldn't do that to Rachel. He already put her through too much. He locked eyes with Puck, "Thanks." He muttered. "Come on Rach, we'll be late if we don't go."

She turned to Finn, beamed, and grabbed his hand. "Of course." Then the two drifted down the hall again, but Rachel turned back and gave Puck a sweet smile and mouthed thank you again.

Puck changed into an extra pair of clothes in the locker room before heading back to homeroom, but as he was leaving the locker room someone stopped him.

"Noah."

"Oh, hey, Berry. Didn't see you standing there." He replied, trying to act surprised. He figured his plan had worked well enough but didn't really expect Rachel to find him _this_ soon.

"Hey. Well I hope I did not startle you. I just obtained a bathroom pass and came here to make sure you are all right."

"I'm fine, Berry. Nothing I haven't experienced before." He said as he started down the hall. Berry followed him a couple steps behind.

"Well, yes. I know. It seems you've take a slushie twice for me now. And well, I wanted to say I two things to you."

Puck had to stop and hear this. So he turned around and leaned on the lockers in the hall causually. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Well, first: I apologize for being harsh yesterday. I do want to be your friend. I was unsure of your motives at first, but I see now that I was mistaken as to your intent. Second; I want to say that I would love to help you find a job. Friends do nice things for each other right? And really, who am I to turn down friends?"

Puck tried to smile too widely. "Glad you finally came around. And you could use a few friends," he teased.

She playfully shoved his arm and then said, "Come, we have to get back to homeroom before we another detention."

"After you," he held his arm out for her to go first. He wanted to watch her walk ahead of him in her short skirt, and he soaked up every second of the walk.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: SORRY for the delay!! The next few parts will definitely be shorter and I'll update as soon as I can but I'm SUPER busy now that I'm back in classes. But I promise to update! ANd let me know what you think.

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Rachel explained everything very simply to Finn. She was Puck's friend, even if he wasn't anymore. She told him that she completely understood why Finn wasn't Puck's friend, but she was going to be. Finn didn't really know how to react. He was really angry at first, and that seemed to be the emotion he settled on.

Rachel had paced a bit back and forth in her living room straightening and restraightening anything that was a millimeter out of place. She never really had people over and she was worried about making a bad impression. She carefully placed a bowl of Cheetos in the center of the coffee table and she tried to relax on the couch. She couldn't really figure out why she was so nervous but she just tried to chalk it up to the fact that she had very few friends come over before (if ever).

The doorbell rang. Rachel jumped up, a bit startled and pressed the tiny wrinkles out of her skirt as she walked to the door.

"Hi!" she beamed as she opened the door.

"Hey, Berry," Puck said throwing her a smirk. Rachel held the door for him and closed it behind him as he walked into the living room. He noticed how perfect everything seemed to be, too many right angles. He plopped down on the couch and immediately eyed the Cheetos. Before she offered, Puck began chowing down.

"Glad to see that I picked a snack you enjoy," Rachel said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, thanks," he managed to grunt between a few handfuls.

"Well, let's get down to business, then, why don't we. Did you bring your resume?"

"Resu-what?" he stammered.

"Your resume," Rachel articulated slowly, "It's the list of job experience and qualifications you have. See," Rachel pulled a page out from a folder that sat neatly on a side table and passed it to Puck. "This is my resume. It lists my accomplishments and work experience."

Puck scanned it over. The font was small and he almost had to squint to read it, and the page was completely full of what Rachel had accomplished. He felt slightly ashamed but also slightly grateful that he wasn't as crazy-obsessed with anything like Rachel was obsessed with singing and Glee.

"I know my resume is a bit…long…but don't be intimidated by that. I have been working on my career as long as I can remember." Rachel assured him.

"Okay. Cool." He nodded. "But I don't really have _any_ experience. Well, besides my pool cleaning business."

"Well that's perfect. You started your own business. Entrepreneurship is an excellent strength. What are your other strengths?"

Puck merely grinned, leaned back a bit, bared his arms and flexed his biceps. Rachel laughed and shook her head.

"Your physical strength is not to what I was referring. That is only useful if you want a job with heavy labor involved. What are your non-physical strengths?" Rachel asked.

There was silence. Puck really had never thought about that at all. He ran through his list of strengths in his head: he was strong, athletic, hot, good in bed.... Puck couldn't think of anything else.

"I don't know." He shrugged.

Rachel sighed. "Well, then we'll just have to pick some places to apply to and lie."

"Say what?" Puck raised an eyebrow at Rachel suggesting they lie.

"We'll pick a few jobs to apply to and we'll lie. We'll say that you're perfectly qualified." Rachel picked up her computer and pulled it open. Puck still looked a bit shocked but then just smirked.

"Who are you?"

* * *

Rachel and Puck spent another two hours toiling on his resume. Puck really hadn't anticipated that Rachel would make him do so much of the work but in the end, he had ten applications out. Also, to his surprise, he actually enjoyed the experience. Rachel didn't make him feel stupid; in fact, she made him feel good and actually kinda smart. (Which he never really thought was possible).

"Can I ask you a question, Noah?" Rachel asked as she hit send on his last application.

Puck leaned back on the couch; he had been leaning over Rachel's shoulder and kinda admiring the view down her shirt. Her question caught him off guard and ruined his moment. He just shrugged in response to Rachel's question. Rachel just stared at Puck, waiting for an answer, giving him that "I don't believe you" look.

Finally, Puck sighed, "I just need to make more money."

"Why? I thought you have your pool cleaning business." She responded.

""Yeah. But I don't make enough doing that. I barely make enough to cover my dip and slushie purchases. And now I need to save, you know."

"For your baby?"

"Yeah. I know Quinn wants to give her away, but I don't think I want to do. It's my kid you know? I got to take care of her if I can. I've got to give it a shot." Puck said sincerely.

"Well, you'll get a job. Don't worry about it." Rachel smiled and placed her hand over his. "It's going to be fine."

"Yeah, thanks." Puck murmured. He was suddenly aware of how close they were sitting and he was reminded of his urge to kiss her. He thought about it for a long moment, pondering whether he should go for it. It's not like him and Finn were even friends anymore. He could do what he wanted, and he didn't have to care about how Finn felt about it. He didn't even care if Finn was dating Rachel. But as he leaned forward, Rachel bolted up.

"You want some soda?" Rachel squeaked and practically ran to the kitchen.


	9. Chapter 9

Rachel was sitting at her desk in her room when she heard the doorbell ring. As she walked downstairs she wondered if Noah forgot something and had come back. He hadn't left that long ago, but to be honest Rachel didn't think he left soon enough. She had seen that look in his eye when she was trying to comfort him. And she saw him leaning closer, so she bolted. Noah had stayed around for another half hour, but she made sure to sit in a chair, away from the couch as they talked. Now if Rachel was honest with herself she would have told you that the real reason she was so excited to see him go was that Noah was making her feel what could best be described as "off center."

Taking a deep breath, Rachel opened the door, and she was pleasantly surprised to find Finn standing in her doorway.

"Finn!" Rachel smiled and threw her arms around his neck.

Finn chuckled and was a bit confused. "Rachel, are you okay? I don't think you've greeted me so enthusiastically before." Finn wrapped his arms around Rachel, "But I'm not complaining."

"Why would you ever complain about your girlfriend attacking you? I mean, attacking you in a friendly way, not in a domestic violence manner." Rachel let go of Finn's neck and he let her drop to the floor.

"You're right. I wouldn't ever complain about you attacking me." Finn leaned down and kissed Rachel sweetly. She wondered if the feeling of her stomach dropping two feet when Finn kissed her was ever going to go away; she hoped it wouldn't.

"So…" Finn began awkwardly as they went to sit on the couch.

"So?" Rachel mocked back.

"C'mon, Rach. You know what I want to ask about. Can I ask about it?" Finn said.

"You can ask whatever you like, Finn. Just ask."

"So…how was your thing with…Puck?" Finn choked out. He hated saying Puck's name, and it really pissed him off still that Rachel was being friends with him.

"It went fine, thank you for asking."

"So, you're really going to stay friends with him, huh?" Finn said kinda hurt.

"Finn! We talked about this. I don't have very many friends. Even the members of Glee only tolerate me. I know this and I have no delusions about it but its nice to have a friend, a real friend."

Finn cocked an eyebrow at her, "You think Puck just wants to be friends with you, Rach?" Rachel suddenly envisioned Puck leaning towards with that look on face.

"Yes." She lied. "I think he just wants to be friends."

Finn scoffed. "Rachel, I know I seem stupid most of the time, but I'm not that dumb. I see the way he looks at you sometimes and I saw the way he kissed you the other day."

Rachel sighed. "Look. I don't feel that way about Noah. He and I are just friends. I like you. I'm with you. I _love_ you." Rachel slapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that but it just came out. She looked at her lap, not making eye contact.

"You _love _me?" Finn asked a bit freaked out.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. We've only been dating for a little while. I don't expect you to feel the same. I'm not even saying I feel that way. It just came out….I'm not really sure why I said it…" Rachel was rambling and Finn took her face in her hand and kissed her deeply. They broke apart a few minutes later, Finn was leaning over Rachel who was laying on the couch.

"I wasn't expecting that." Rachel breathed.

"Me neither." Finn reciprocated and began kissing the nape of her neck.

"I take it, then, that you are not too put out by my outburst earlier." Finn stopped kissing her neck and looked her in the eyes.

"It did freak me out, if that's what you mean. But I like you a lot, Rach. I'm just not there yet."

"Yeah. Well the last girl you said that too also cheated on you. So I can understand your hesitation."

"Yeah…" Finn sighed and rested his head on the crook of her neck. Rachel ran her fingers in his hair and they just stayed like that for a while without a word passing between them.

* * *

Things went pretty well for a couple of weeks and Rachel was finding that she could balance being Puck's friend and Finn's girlfriend. She even liked it. Finn was a great boyfriend and Noah turned out to be really sweet when not around his football friends. But that was Rachel's point of view. Finn and Puck were not as happy. Finn tolerated seeing Puck talk to his girlfriend but had, on a couple of occasions, threatened Puck with bodily harm after he saw him giving Rachel hugs where his hands seemed to go just a bit too far south. Also, Finn seemed to be getting extra flak about dating Rachel, but every time he thought about breaking up with her, he remembered how _she_ made him feel and he realized nothing the football players could do to him mattered.

Puck, alternatively, was getting frustrated with the fact that his plan wasn't working just as wanted. He had planned on having a job by now to calm Quinn's complaints and prove to her that he really could take care of his kid. He also planned on the Finn-Rachel thing to go down in flames by now. He had even paid some of the football team members to be extra hard on Finn about it; apparently Finn grew some balls, go figure. The only comfort Puck did have was that Rachel was his friend, and although he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he really liked talking to her. He just really wanted to kiss her too, but she seemed really focused on Finn.

Puck walked down the hall and could see Finn towering over Berry in the doorway of homeroom. His face scrunched up a bit and a scowl was plastered on his face.

"Puck." Quinn called to his, distracting him from Rachel and Finn.

"What's up?" he said nonchalantly.

"Did you get another job yet?"

Puck rolled his eyes. "God, Quinn, could we put an anti-nagging order into effect anytime before 11AM?"

"Well, we can if there is also a no asshole order. Or you can sign the adoption papers and then I won't bother you anymore." She retorted.

Puck just stared at her for a minute before he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. "I gotta take this," he said without looking to see who it was, and he walked away.

"So what do you want to do this weekend," Finn asked while playing with the top button on Rachel's shirt.

"Stop that." She said and playfully patted his hand away. "I don't know. Isn't there some end of season football party?"

"Yeah. Did you want to go to that?" Finn began playing with her button again.

"Maybe." She replied. "I've never been to a football party. It would be an interesting experience."

"Well, maybe we'll go then." Finn smiled.

"Good. Well, I should get to class now." Rachel grabbed Finn's hand and kissed him briefly.

He smiled and held her hand as she drifted by the door. But she was very suddenly swept up into another's arms.

"Berry! You're a genius!" Puck yelled as he swept her up.

Rachel giggled a bit before she realized that was not the reaction she should be having. She put on a stern face and said, "That's excellent, Noah; however, I would greatly appreciate it if you would put me down and perhaps, explain yourself."

Finn, practically growling, showed up behind Rachel and glowered at Puck. Puck tried to keep a hold of Rachel's hand but she pulled away and grabbed Finn's, who protectively wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I got a job." Puck said simply, trying to regain his composure. It wasn't really him to have emotional bursts that weren't anger. "So, I just wanted to say thanks."

"Well, you are very welcome." Rachel beamed. She was genuinely happy for him. "It's that great, Finn?"

"Yeah, sure." He choked out but glared at Puck. Puck just smirked.

"Anyways. Thanks again." Puck stuck his hands in his pockets and walked into class, but glanced back at Rachel one last time. She gave him a sweet smile before turning towards Finn again.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Sorry for the delay I was suffering writer's block and I wasn't sure where this was going. But I'm back on track and will hopefully have another update soon. Sorry for the abrupt place this chapter leaves off but I'm exhausted. Please Review if you get a chance and thanks for all the reads. You guys are awesome!**

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It felt like the longest week of Puck's life, but he was so happy that it was finally Friday. Friday meant several things: 1. He would soon be free of the hassle that is school, 2. He was one week closer to his first paycheck and 3. The football team's last party of the semester was tonight. It was turning out to be a perfect week for him. His swagger as he headed for his truck after school was more pronounced than usual, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a familiar girl with a pronounced belly leaning on his truck.

"Hey, Quinn." He said thinly veiling his annoyance.

"Is that really any way to speak to the mother of your child?" she retorted, crossing her arms across her chest. Puck couldn't help but notice that pregnancy had done nice things for Quinn's cleavage, and when Quinn crossed her arms, it just emphasized that fact.

"Sorry, what did you say? I couldn't hear you over how loudly your boobs were calling my name." Puck continued to stare.

Quinn didn't uncross her arms but instead leaned her head down to make eye contact with Puck, "I know you think you're _so_ the man, but please save your barbaric and perverse thoughts. I don't care about them. You aren't that awesome, Puck."

Puck just rolled his eyes. _I am that fucking awesome,_ he thought. "Still got those panties in a bunch, Quinn?" he said under his breath.

"Puck. I didn't come here to start anything with you. I just wanted to give you these." She pulled out another manila envelope from her shoulder bag.

"I already told you I don't want to do adoption." He told her pushing the papers away.

"I know. Just look at the papers, please. I think this could work." She said.

"What do you mean work?" he asked, slightly curious.

Quinn stared at her feet before saying, "I'm not a stone wall, Puck. I have emotions. You're not the only one who doesn't necessarily want to give up my…I mean _our_ child." Puck stifled a scoff and Quinn continued, "I still want to have her adopted, but I don't know if I can handle not being involved in her life. So, I researched some other options. That's what's in the envelope. So, just look at the papers, okay?"

Puck looked down on Quinn and he couldn't ignore the sincerity in her voice. "Alright. I'll look at them." He took the folder from Quinn and tossed it in his truck as he opened the passenger-side door.

"Thanks." She said and turned to walk away.

"Hey, Quinn?" Puck found himself calling her back not entirely sure why.

She turned and faced him, raising her eyebrows in a inquisitive manner. "Can I ask you something?" he said obtusely. "Do you miss Finn?"

"What kind of question is that, Puck?"

_Just the one that popped into my head, _he responded internally. "Nevermind." He told her.

"Puck, if you're wondering if I miss Finn and that's why I didn't choose to be with you or if he's the reason I'm still not with you, then stop wondering." Puck inhaled, ready for the bomb to drop and Quinn dropped it, "I will admit I still love him, but I'm not with you because I don't think we're right for each other. If we hadn't drunkenly hooked up and inadvertently created a human being, you wouldn't even want to be with me and I wouldn't want to be with you. All we have is sexual attraction and we both deserve more than that. Well, at least I do."

She made it sound so simple. Puck never really thought about whether he actually liked Quinn more than physically. _Maybe she's right_, he told himself. It was true that they never dated. Also, he didn't really know that much about her, and he didn't really want to get to know her until after she told him she was pregnant. But he thought sexual attraction was the most important thing, the other stuff you just tolerate about a person.

"Are you saying you only like me for my smoking hot body?" he deflected as he stepped out of his momentary deep-think session.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Puck, I'm not saying we don't get along on other levels, but we're not exactly friends and we never really will be."

"So? What does being friends have to do with being in a relationship?" he asked incredulously.

Laughing, she answered, "In real relationships, the passion can sizzle. The newness wears off and if you don't really, truly like the person you're with, if you're not friends with them fundamentally, then the relationship will probably fail. I'm not looking for someone I _want_ to be around without having to want to jump them. Does that make sense?"

"No." He said bluntly.

"Well, I don't think it translates into "Puck". But just know that we, as a couple, are never going to happen. Finn or no Finn."

Puck seemed to understand that, but the friend thing was still clouding his thoughts. It was foreign concept to him frankly. But he shrugged it off. Quinn, seeing that there wasn't anything really left to say, turned around again and walked away. Puck didn't try to stop her a second time.

* * *

Rachel paced back and forth in her room, wearing a small path in the carpet. She stopped abruptly and checked her phone. When it did not read what she wanted it to, she slammed it closed and continued to pace. She was interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Come in!" She squeaked.

"Honey, is there a reason you're stomping around up here?" one of her dads popped his head into her room.

Rachel sighed, obviously hoping that he was going to bring her different news. "Oh, nothing," she lied. "I didn't know I was being so loud."

"It's alright, Rachel. Dad and I just want to make sure that you're doing all right. You're not usually this stressed out." He commented.

"Oh, Daddy. I'm fine. Sorry to worry you two. I'm just waiting for someone."

"A special person?" her daddy asked. Both her dad's were always sensitive to make sure not to label their daughter, always using gender neutral terms, but Rachel knew her daddy's euphemism for romantic was special.

"No, Daddy. I'm just waiting for a friend Kurt to be precise. He's helping me get ready to go to the football party tonight with my boyfriend, Finn. Remember? I told you and Dad all about this last night."

Her daddy didn't want to admit it but it was sometimes difficult to listen to every word his little girl said, she talked quite a bit. "Oh, that's right. I remember now," he lied successfully. "Well, I hope he's here soon."

"Me too." she sighed honestly.

"Cheer up, Pumpkin. It'll be okay. I'll let you get back to your pacing." He left her.

Rachel plopped down on her bed, stretching out and trying to calm herself. Suddenly her phone made a distinctive ting. She quickly looked at the screen. She had a new text from Kurt.

_Sorry hun but I'm totally not going to be able to make it. Another Diva is having an emergency I have to attend to. _

Rachel felt a sudden loss of hope. Yeah, Kurt had mislead her last time about what to wear and he didn't exactly like that she was now dating Finn, but he did understand the popular crowd best. Plus, he had experience being with them a lot. She just wanted to make sure the outfit she picked out was sure to not only please Finn but not make her look like a total fool. _Oh the things girls have worry about_, she thought woefully.

Sitting up, she looked at the outfit she had laid out on her chair. It wasn't what she would typically wear but it was the only thing she could think might be appropriate. She didn't know how dressy or un-dressy these football house parties were. She decided that she would stick with what she had and hoped that it was okay. What Rachel really failed to realize what that it really didn't matter what she wore. She was Rachel Berry, she was going to stick out like a sore thumb no matter what.

Rachel was ready before Finn even got to her house. She sat rather impatiently on the couch for him. She thought maybe she should pretend to still be getting ready when he got there (like in all the movies) but she decided against it when she realized she's probably trip down the stairs and not descend gracefully. When the doorbell finally rang, Rachel sprang up and flew open the door.

"Hi." She breathed.

"Hi." Finn said back looking her over. "Rachel, you…you look…great."

"Really? You think so?" She asked genuinely pressing the sides of her skirt down. The dress was gift from her dads and she never knew if it was really "her", but Finn seemed to like it.

"Yeah, Rach." Finn answered sincerely. He really did think she looked gorgeous.

"It's not too much?"

"Naw." He said firmly but wasn't sure if that were the truth or a lie. _Besides_, he thought, _it's Rachel. She always wears clothes people don't get but for some reason I find incredibly hot_. And Finn definitely thought she looked hot now, so that's all he cared about. He admired the short length of the pale pink dress and the geometric tights that showed off only little peaks of her shapely legs. "You look fantastic," he reassured her. "So you ready to go?"

Rachel hesitated for a second, debating about whether this was a wise choice at all. She didn't really fit into that world of football parties and cheerleading, but Rachel quickly swallowed her fear and took Finn's arm. _I'm ready for this_, she tried to reassure herself, but the doubt still lingered.


End file.
